Nannies, Mother's Helpers & Au pairs (duties, costs & comparisons)

• differences between Nannies, Mother's Helpers and Au pairs

• advantages and disadvantages of having a nanny

• average nanny salary

• other things to consider when hiring a candidate

Nanny is someone who is employed to care for a child or children in their home on a regular basis and gets a salary and can be live in or live out.

Nannies assume many of the responsibilities of a parent and take care of many aspects of children’s care and development such as:

• creating a safe and stimulating environment for the children,

• planning/preparing healthy meals and feeding,

• bathing and dressing,

• arranging play dates and outings,

• setting up games, indoor and outdoor play,

• children’s laundry,

• putting children to bed and so on. 

Nannies often help with additional tasks to help the family for example errands, shopping, light housekeeping, cooking, looking after pets etc.

Advantages of having a Nanny:

The biggest advantage is that your child will be looked after by a regular and attentive caregiver in a surrounding of your own home. Having a Nanny can also help maintain a consistent style in childrearing.

Another advantage of having a Nanny unlike in a nursery is that the Nanny is one dedicated caregiver for your child or children and they can also nap and eat on their own schedule depending on their age. The Nanny will have more knowledge of their particular dietary requirements.

Flexibility is another big advantage. You get to decide what days and hours and duties you want a Nanny to perform and then hire someone who fits the bill. Nannies can often work extra hours, travel or stay with your child or children if you need to go away.

With a Nanny there is no hassle of drop offs and pick ups from nurseries or child minding centres, so mornings can be less busy and stressful for working parents.

Disadvantages of having a Nanny:

Nanny care is largely unsupervised, making it very important that you find someone who you trust and you have to find another one to replace them if they decide to leave. You can minimize the disruption of a Nanny's departure by specifying in your contract how much notice is required e.g. one month is standard but it can be more or less.

Social interaction is automatic if you have your child in a daycare centre whereas with a Nanny you need to make sure that they provide appropriate opportunities for your child to socialise either through signing your child to classes and activities, or regular outings and play dates.

Drafting a contract and paying taxes for your Nanny is another legal obligation that you have to fulfil but you can hire a service to help you with this task. We recommend Nanny Tax. 

For some parents nanny family relationship can be difficult. A lot of parents may not be prepared for this. This is why when choosing the candidate parents should ensure they find the right fit for their family. There is a list of things parents should consider before hiring a nanny. 

Nanny Cost:

Hiring a Nanny may not be the cheapest option. According to Nanny Tax the average pay for a Nanny in London in 2018 was:

Live out Nanny:

£13.35 an hourly rate, £668 weekly, £2,893 monthly, £34,721 annual

Live in Nanny:

£9.56 hourly rate, £478 weekly, £2,071 monthly, £24,856 annual

Live out via live in Nannies:

Live out Nannies:

Full time live out Nanny typically work set times 10 hours a day and on average 50 hours a week from 8am to 6pm for £500 - £600 gross a week. They arrive each morning and leave in the evenings. Some live out Nannies may also come and stay with the children for number of days if the parents are away.

Live in Nannies:

Full time live in Nanny typically works 50 hours a week and many families require two nights of babysitting included in the salary which is £400 - £500 gross per week. However you can expect a live in Nanny to do a slightly longer day 11 hour day or sometimes even a 12 hour day with free weekends. Live in Nanny can be less expensive as they live in your house. You provide them with accommodation and food on top of their salary.

It is helpful if the room they have is somehow separate from the rest of the house. Live in Nanny should be very flexible and adaptable. Someone more acceptable and not someone who had a lot of autonomy as they may find it harder to live in with a family and may feel suffocated.

With a live in Nanny some families may feel lack of privacy too by having a non-family member living in their home.

Mother’s helper – supports mother or father in caring after their children. Mother’s Helpers duties are generally to help with the care of the children and are normally supervised. They also include some basic housework such as: washing and ironing, shopping, tidying up children’s rooms and helping with cooking. Mother’s Help job often leads to becoming a nanny. Salary on average is £10 an hour.  

Au pair – An Au pair is an unmarried young person, usually between 18 and 30 years old, without dependents, who comes to the UK as part of the cultural and language exchange programme. An Au pair lives with a host family and should be treated like a part of that family and not an employee. 

Word Au pair comes from French term and means ‘equal to’ indicating that the relationship between the host family and the Au pair is meant to be on equal terms. The Au pair lives with a host family and should be treated like a part of that family, share family’s way of life and be included in family’s activities and events. They should not be considered a domestic staff or an employee. 

The host family provides an Au pair with full board, pocket money and accommodation with own bedroom. We also recommend a study facilities and access to wifi so that she or he can keep in touch with family and friends. Often Au pairs establish social life outside the host family’s home and also will be looking to attend classes to improve their English language skills. 

All of our Au pair applicants come mainly from Poland, speak basic or good English and are fully vetted. We check their childcare and character reference, medical certificate and police checks. 

An Au pair programme can last for 6 months to 1 year or longer or for just 2 - 3 months in a Summer. 

We hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful and if you have any more questions or if you would like us to help you find your perfect candidate then please do not hesitate to contact us. We’d love to help you.